Morrison & Foerster’s Global Sourcing Group (over 60 outsourcing lawyers located in the U.S., Europe, and Asia) annually publishes a report on the state of the worldwide outsourcing market and the forces likely to shape outsourcing for the coming 12 months. The 2010 edition of Morrison & Foerster’s Global Sourcing Trends includes predictions about several contractual aspects of outsourcing. I interviewed Julian S. Millstein, Senior Counselor at M&F, New York, for further insights about several of those predictions.
Your firm’s Global Sourcing Trends report predicts shorter deal cycles and companies trying to close deals quickly during 2010. Doesn’t this often… Read the rest
I’ve blogged before about some of the lessons learned from mistakes made in outsourcing relationships that caused the parties to achieve less value than they anticipated. But as another blogger commented, last week, why not also learn from those who got it right, those who found keys to success. That’s definitely the most valuable approach. So this blog presents a perspective shared by those who got it right.
When I’ve asked hundreds of outsourcing buyers over the past decade to share a characteristic that is key to keeping their interests aligned over the long term, one of the… Read the rest
There’s a growing recognition that an outsourcing initiative is a journey. Executives of some of the world’s leading companies have said that to me when I interviewed them about the successes and challenges in their outsourcing arrangements.
A question I’ve asked when interviewing literally hundreds of outsourcing execs is what they would do differently the second time around if they had an opportunity to start over (from the initial negotiation phase).
It’s hard to believe, but a few (very few) say they wouldn’t do anything differently and that everything went smoothly and according to plan. Many reply that they actually… Read the rest
M.R. Rangaswami is a recognized software business expert. Prior to co-founding Sand Hill Group (known for its conferences and work in advising and uniting the software and services market) and founding the Corporate Eco-Forum, he held global VP marketing positions at Oracle Corporation, Baan Company, and Avalon Software. In 1997, he was named as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Technology Executives.
In this interview, M.R. shares his insights and opinions on the cloud’s upcoming impact on application development services.
What is driving adoption of cloud-based services?
M.R. Regardless of the hype, confusion, and complexity that seem to surround… Read the rest
Here’s a multiple-choice question for you: Is outsourcing the CFO position likely to be (a) innocuous, (b) momentous, or (c) hazardous? Before you deem the question as ridiculous, consider this “Outsourcing the CFO” article in The Moscow Times.
Although the article discusses the outsourcing strategy within the context of encountering difficulty in attracting/hiring an experienced CFO, the strategy could also work in situations where the buyer of outsourced finance and accounting processes also folds the CFO position into the scope of services delivered by the outsourcing provider – and the CFO is on the outsourcer’s payroll.
What benefits would the… Read the rest
I’m part of a minority group. Despite the media flooding us with terrible tales and significant studies about outsourcing failures, I focus on the fact that the “pie” of the outsourcing market has a very large piece that represents highly successful relationships.
However, any relationship, whether personal or business, is bound to encounter disappointments. In my interviews of hundreds of buyers and suppliers of outsourcing services, I’ve asked about those disappointments. One that stands out to me is occurring more frequently these days as companies take on more globalization efforts.
Here’s a real-world example. In the initial contract, the buyer… Read the rest
Saturday night, June 6, 2009. It was the long-awaited and much-hyped George Strait concert at the grand opening of the Cowboys Stadium, the massive piece of architecture that is the new home for football’s famed Dallas Cowboys. More than 60,000 fans were expected to attend, and for months before the concert, Internet sites offered maps with the best routes to get to and from the stadium from any Dallas/Fort Worth Zip Codes.
The restaurants, clubs and other businesses in the Arlington, Texas, entertainment district where the stadium stands tall had extra staff on hand, ready for the anticipated… Read the rest
I read a press release the other day about the Chicago area recently launching a public awareness campaign regarding how its 14 museums and zoos contribute to the city and to the state of Illinois. The headline alone caught my attention, as I assumed residents don’t need to be made aware of the benefits of having Picassos, giraffes, planetariums, and dinosaur bones in their midst. Fun, education, culture, even inspiration came to mind as clear benefits.
But in reading further, I learned the zoos and museums also result in more than 26,000 jobs, tax revenue, and about $1 billion annually… Read the rest
Two words: cloud and SaaS. They’re a common thread in discussions for outsourcing plans these days because the advantages these technology-access models present to buyers are truly significant. Both are increasingly marketed as outsourced services. But are they really outsourcing? If so, are these models causing companies to overlook crucial aspects of outsourcing arrangements? Or is outsourcing morphing to simply “sourcing” – commoditized services that really don’t involve a relationship factor, governance frameworks, and other complexities?
In other words, is the notion of what constitutes “outsourcing” changing? To find the answer to this question, I invited four experts to a… Read the rest
I just read an article published this week, titled “Spreading the word on outsourcing.” What’s interesting about it is that, although it starts out advising companies about the benefits of outsourcing their non-core processes, it switches to a discussion about outsourcing failures. The writer cites a recent study that found nearly 70 percent of 300 survey respondents (apparently in Ireland) said their outsourcing deals “suffered from poor vendor selection and lack of service levels.”
What grabbed my attention even more was a letter from a New Albany, Indiana, resident commenting on the poor quality of services, the subsequent deterioration in… Read the rest
Recent Comments
“Great interview with a top professional! Shared. Mel, alldayPA ”
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